just stopping in to say hi

Catching up (lots to do), cleaning house (my house is a mess and in need of a good clean, and I've got a couple little helpers who love to "help" ;)), making a grocery list (the refrig is in need of a refill), loving the little things (like playing Lightning McQueen) and getting ready to enjoy some warmer weather with my sweet little ones today. Be back tomorrow :)

coming soon to the shop: lovely mini upcycled journals

Happy Monday :) I've had some people asking me about this little journal I posted about here last year. I made the journal for myself personally, but had never sold any. I will be putting together a few to be available in my shop later this week. 

The journals have tons of found papers in them, as well as new decorative papers. The cover is vintage sewing pattern paper and will have some sort of label on it. Be on the lookout :)

*additionally: I will also be listing some paper hearts punched from Valentine-themed and vintage papers. These are what I used to make these 3-D Valentine Heart Cards.

new in shop later today: i love you journal

*Edited to add: Wow! :) The kits sold so quickly (thanks for the support!:)), I decided to make a few more and now have a preorder option available in the shop if you are still interested in purchasing a kit :) These will be ready to ship by next Thursday (February 2). 

I put together a few "I Love You" journals kits that will be available for purchase in my shop this morning around 10:30am EST. The journals have 22 pages including decorative papers from My Mind's Eye "Love Me" line, vellum, decorative wax paper, envelopes, glassine and kraft paper bags, glitter embellished cardstock, vintage music and dictionary pages and much more. Also part of this journal is a valentine confetti window (made with heart confetti! yay!), a scrap of red polka dot fabric and a cover that says "I Love You" and is blank- ready for you to decorate!

Included for you to embellish your pages: a sample of 3 washi tapes, a paper doily, 7 assorted buttons, a shipping tag, white ric rac and red ribbon, and 11 paper punches (hearts and starburst). *Edited to add: International shipping is available and is an option in the listing :)

The perfect little book to jot down sentiments, stories and loves notes. A perfect place to paste in pictures and mementos. A perfect gift to give to a loved one this Valentine's Day :)

just an fyi

I put together a couple "I Love You" journal kits that will be available in my shop tomorrow (Friday) morning at 10:30am EST. More details here in the morning :)

DIY :: Valentine Garland

So I had no intention of this week becoming "DIY Valentine Goodies Week" - but it is kind of shaping up to be :) I love Valentine's Day. I know, I know, it's way commercialized and can be kind of cheesy, but I guess it's fun to have cheesy-ness every once in awhile ;) And of course what's more fun is that it's great to celebrate a significant other and the family and friends you love :)

It's good to plan ahead if you are going to make decorations and such, right? So you aren't making decorations and gift goodies at the very.last.minute. :) I promise it will not be Valentine-y around here for the next 2.5 weeks :)

Like this garland I made for Christmas, this Valentine garland is fun and simple to make. All you need are hearts and circles punched (or handcut!) from Valentine-y papers (I used light pink, dark pink, red, white, kraft, and vintage dictionary pages (To get the multiple hearts punched on the circle punches, I used this punch first and then punched the 1.5" circle).

I then fed them through my sewing machine in no particular order. I stacked three paper rounds on top of each other every now and then to create a 3-D effect (like in the Holiday Garland). 

The garland is about 10' long and took about 20 minutes start to finish, including punching all of the shapes. A cute and quick Valentine's Day decoration :)

Want a Valentine's Day garland but would rather purchase one? Go here to see one like this in my shop :)

DIY :: Valentine Tags

After being inspired by these super cute tags over at Creature Comforts, I decided to make up some tags for Valentine's Day. I used bits and pieces that I had on hand - some red fabric, paper, washi tape, ribbon and a button, baker's twine and some word stickers. 

I recently purchased this punch (which I'm thinking would make fabulous confetti in this confetti window card, and used that to punch directly onto one of the tags and then placed pink paper behind it. I also used it to punch out confetti in a bunch of different papers and glued the confetti pieces to another tag. I made another tag with 3D hearts - similar to this card I made last year.

These tags are perfect to adorn a small gift, stick in a card (or glue 2 or 3 to the front of a blank card!), or as a quick "I love you" in a loved one's lunch box :)

DIY :: Confetti Valentine Card

A few months ago, I made this card for my dad for his birthday. I loved how it turned out (so did my dad!), and decided to make one for Valentine's Day. They are not too difficult to make, and I will be showing you how to make my confetti windows (which are also available for purchase and customization in my shop).

Supplies:

+ a pre-made white 4.25"x 5.5" folded notecard (you could make your own from cardstock, I already had this on hand)

+ red, white, and pink papers, and/or vintage-y book pages

+ 2 sheets of transparency material, big enough to cover the heart you will cut out on the card (you could also use page protector material)

+ white sheet (text weight, not cardstock) of paper, cut to 5" x 8"

+ xacto blade

+ hole punch

+ rolling adhesive

+ sewing machine and thread (if you don't have a sewing machine, you could probably just use rolling adhesive... not sure, as I've never tried it ;))

Begin by tracing a heart onto the inside left of the card (so you won't see your pencil marks on the finished card). Cut out with your xacto blade- be careful! :)

 The front of the card after you cut the heart out.

 Punch out a bunch of confetti from the pink, red, white and vintagey book papers.

Cut down the transparency material (or page protector) to large enough to cover the heart window (and to not be able to see your sewing once it is glued on).

Sew a little pocket, leaving one side open. Pour in your confetti pieces.

 Sew up the open side.

Run the rolling adhesive along the edges of the confetti window so you can adhere it on the inside of the card. Be careful that the adhesive does not come through the window (it'd be all sticky on the front).

Now take the 5" x 8" sheet of white paper and put adhesive around the edges. I also added a strip of adhesive to the fold of the inside of the card. Carefully place the sheet onto the card and smooth out any wrinkles.

 Voila! A Confetti Valentine Card. I chose to leave the front blank, but you could easily write on "Happy Valentine's Day" or "I love you" or whatever :)

aaand i'm back.

Phew! After several days of not feeling good (at.all.), I am doing much better :) Thank you so much for the sweet words and comments! :)

Catching up around my home, as well as in my studio. Putting together some more paper packs, and shipping out some orders.

For today, some links I am loving:

+ These adorable DIY Fabric Scrap Gift Tags by Creature Comforts (found via pinterest)

+ This "It's a Good Day" print by wickedpaper

+ This fun giveaway for super cute letterpress cards by Hello!Lucky over at ModPodge Rocks

+ This DIY post on making an Infinity Scarf over at The Cottage Home. I've always wanted to make one of these! (found via pinterest)

+ This cute scrap pack from vidadesigns

+ This alphabet wall project over at A Time For Everything. I've always wanted an alphabet wall :) (found via pinterest)

+ Banana Pudding from Southern Living. I shared this recipe awhile ago. Am going to have to make this again. Soon.

Have a great day! :)

sick.

Yes, very under the weather. Be back soon :)

Image purchased here.

gathering inspiration: valentine's day

Finding all sorts of cute ideas for Valentine's Day on pinterest. Paper crafts, food, garlands, all sorts of goodies! Check out my Valentine's Day board here :)

Working On: Valentine Pillow

I shared this pillow cover a looooonnng time ago. So long ago I couldn't even find it in my archives after a quick search ;) Unfortunately, I never finished it and just found it recently at the bottom of my fabric stash. Whoops ;) So I began working on it the other day and am determined to finish it. 

After sewing a red or pink border and white backing fabric, this will be a simple envelope-type enclosure pillow case. No zippers, no buttons (mostly because I still don't know how to sew in a zipper ;)). Just tuck it in and call it done.

Basically, all I did was use a water soluble marker and hand write "love" (which I then stitched with red embroidery floss), and then drew two hearts. One is filled with sewn-on buttons, the other has a patchwork of pink and lovely fabrics sewn on. I will share the finished product in the next couple weeks before Valentine's Day :)

Food: Calzone Rolls

I made these super yummy calzone rolls this weekend. They were fabulous and fairly easy to make. I found this recipe via pinterest and adapted it a little, including making my own pizza dough and marinara sauce to dip them in.

Calzone Rolls

1 recipe Basic Pizza Dough found here at Lauren's Latest - the BEST pizza dough recipe I've found. Ever (and her cheesesticks recipe is amazing too!). Or you can use a frozen bread loaf (thawed, of course ;)).

5 slices deli ham

5 slices deli salami

10 slices deli pepperoni

1-1/2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese (or plain mozzarella)

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp. parmesan cheese

1 recipe marinara sauce found at Skinny Taste (or use store-bought marinara)

Roll pizza dough out to 8 inches by 12 inches. Top with ham, salami, and pepperoni. Sprinkle cheese evenly over meat. Sprinkle Italian seasoning over cheese.

Fold short edges in about 1/2 inch. Starting with long side, roll the pizza dough up jelly-roll style, and pinch to seal edges. Place on a pizza stone or lightly greased cookie sheet, seam side down. Brush top of roll with egg white and sprinkle parmesan on top. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce.

Mini Book: Hilton Head 2011

I finished my Hilton Head Mini Book the other day, and was super happy with how it turned out. It was nice to make a book bound with this wire binding instead of my traditional binder rings. It made it a lot less flexible as far as switching pages around, but I was ok with that. 

The book is 5.5"x5" and the photos are 4"x4". I had them printed here, which sadly, is no longer in business. On the lookout for a new place to print square photographs. (*Sidenote: I usually print my own photos, but if I am not in a hurry for them, I send them off.)

I used a lot of different papers for the inside pages, including security envelopes I opened up and cut to 5.5"x5", ledger pages, scrapbooking pages, and other scraps leftover from other projects. I used kraft cardstock and white cardstock for the pages opposite the photos.

I wanted the book to be simple, and didn't want to put a whole ton of journaling in. So I just kind of labeled what each picture was, using stamp borders, washi tape, written lines, or glued down baker's twine. 

Not all pages are shown, as I used the same techniques throughout the book, but you get the idea with the pictures below.